Umi looked down to Vio as she sat on a stone chair. The smaller girl was fully attentive, holding a half-empty glass of water as the water mage prepared the lesson. It was endearing in a way, and Umi couldn't truly hide her excitement as her hair rippled.

"Now, I'm sure you have a few questions, so I'll start at the beginning. If you know something, you can fill it in for me, and then we can get to the next part.

"That make sense?"

Vio nodded.

"Good. Now to begin, I need to share a little history. Long ago, a great wave of light blanketed the world. Survival within this 'Light of Searing' was near impossible as even the hardiest of people became ash under its light. So the first people of this town moved from shadow to shadow and scraped by. This changed when they found the Monolith.

"It is hard to know the exacts, as this was long ago, but the decision was made to settle here in the base of the shadow. At first this didn't change life too much, but within the first two generations, the people here underwent changes."

Umi snapped her fingers and the glass in Vio's hand filled back to full. "Those born within the shadow gained the power of magic, and with that it was quickly decided to make the settlements here permanent."

"So everyone can do stuff like you and those people back there?"

"That's a bit farther in to go over, but for right this moment the answer is yes and no."

Umi chuckled as she took a seat, the confusion on Vio's face a treat in itself. "Now for the main part of the lesson, Magic shapes itself both on the feelings of the wielder, and their nature."

"So, like that fire guy was a hothead?"

"Niteros would call himself passionate, but yes." Umi covered her mouth to hide the chuckle at the man's expense. "This shaping goes both ways, as you can see. The more proficient with magic one is, the closer to their preferred casts their appearance takes."

Vio nodded, ideas starting to form as dots were connected for her. "So, are people locked to their specialties?

"No, not locked, but it is difficult to cast in a way counter to yourself. I, for example, need not think to manipulate water. Fire or air are possible with effort, but don't ask me to move a stone."

Vio took a sip of her drink. "Magic isn't limited to these elemental manipulations though, is it?"

Umi nodded. "Correct, they are just used to make visualization easier. Sir Grev, for example, uses spatial magic. This tends to make him a bit formless unless focused on."

"So, was he the one pressing down on you back there?"

"Partly, but not fully. Remember magic forms on one's will right? Well, sometimes, it can manifest without being put to use. Normally, high stress with lack of focus will lead to that. We call it mana leakage."

"Well I don't like it, it felt. . ." Vio seemed to blank on the word she wanted, only for the slightest tug on Umi's core to give her the answer. ". . .restrictive."

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Umi took in a breath at the unfamiliar feeling, before dismissing it. "It was only that bad because all five of them were experiencing it, probably for a week at least."

"Isn’t that bad?"

"For us? It can be, but I doubt you truly need to worry about it. Under normal circumstances, such a thing is harmless." You already showed that. Umi didn't say the last part aloud. If her suspicions were right, that was the last thing she needed to hear.

Vio nodded as she moved into deep thought.

Then Umi heard the words that made her stiffen. Even her flowing hair had lost its ripples as Vio spoke.

“Could I learn magic?”

Umi didn’t notice when she nodded, nor the shifting emotions on Vio’s face as she subconsciously processed the lesson. She missed the immediate sadness at the thought of being declined, the concern for Umi’s well-being as she zoned out, or the elation of being granted her request. Only when Umi left the room and returned with a crystal was she back to her senses. She took a deep breath as she came in and presented the crystal to Vio.

“SInce I suppose you have the aptitude for it, we’ll start at the beginning. Please touch the crystal, so I may see what we are working with.”

“Just touch it?”

“Yes. Normally we do this to see if one can use magic practically, but in your case, we are looking more to see how much you have access to at the moment.”

Vio nodded before looking the crystal over. It was a clear pentagonal prism. Nothing seemed special about it, yet Vio saw a faint glow within the crystal. Nothing of the glow seemed to suggest anything, so Vio touched the crystal. She expected the glow to get stronger, or dim. She expected an eruption of power, water or flames.

What she didn’t expect was the glow to go into her and fade, while the crystal crumbled in her hand.

“Um. . . That doesn’t normally happen, right?”

Umi gave a sigh as she took a seat. “Not at all.”

“So, what even was ‘that’?”

“An answer. Don’t worry about it for right now. I’ll have something for you later, but for now-” Umi was cut off by a yawn. “It’s getting kinda late. Why don’t I fix you some food and show you to a bed?”

Vio seemed unconvinced, but nodded.

----------------------------------------

Umi let out a breath as she saw Vio tucked in and asleep.

“This has been one wild day.” She said as she returned to her office, furiously scribing down notes. “And the coming ones are going to be just as much as a mess

> The Monolith has come down into a form like our own. This form, known for now as Vio, shows exceptional magical talent without any knowledge. What Vio seems to be able to cast is based on instinct and need. Further experimentation will be needed, but it is my hypothesis that our magic is somewhat linked to hers.

>

> I suspect we have always been borrowers, and it may be time to return our gifts or give adequate repayment to keep them.

Umi hummed as she looked over the note, before moving to write down her initial report on the entire Monolith situation. She left nothing out as she made her report, yet as she wrote, her mind wandered to what she had seen.

> Addendum: Vio seems to be as developed as she appears. To this end, I suggest extreme caution while dealing with her. Extreme stress on her will end badly for all those involved.

Umi let out a breath as she put in her warning. She doubted it would be needed, but before today, she had thought that the Monolith situation would be handled without any more problems, and three weeks ago, she had thought that nothing would change here.

Those thoughts were clearly wrong, and she didn’t wish to be three for three.

“Hopefully, this can all blow over without issue.”

Clearly, she still had lessons to learn of tempting fate.